CORRECTS ACTIVITY SHOWN IN SCENE - Authorities continue working the scene along Bourbon Street after a shooting, early Sunday, June 29, 2014, in New Orleans. Nine people were shot on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' celebrated French Quarter, leaving at least one person in critical condition. (AP Photo/NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune, Benjamin Alexander-Bloch) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; USA TODAY OUT; THE BATON ROUGE ADVOCATE OUT

Nine people were wounded when two men exchanged gunfire early Sunday on the city's crowded Bourbon Street in the celebrated French Quarter, police said.

Images from a surveillance camera above a bar showed people running down the famous street in the chaos of the shooting at 2:45 a.m. Police and emergency workers responded immediately and attended to victims as other revelers looked on.

New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas said two victims were hospitalized in critical condition and six others were in stable condition. The last victim's condition was not available.

The victims were shot two blocks from historic Jackson Square and just around the corner from the popular Pat O'Brien's piano bar. Preservation Hall, a music venue dedicated to New Orleans jazz, is also nearby.

The shooters were "two cowardly young men trying to hurt each other," Serpas said. "Two young men got angry at each other and shot at each other."

Bourbon Street is a nightly swirl of bright neon and tourists, usually with beverages in hand. A blend of jazz joints, strip clubs, bars and restaurants, Bourbon Street has everything from four-star dining to sex shows.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Sunday pledged a swift response from law enforcement.

"Our No. 1 priority is to keep New Orleans safe," Landrieu said in a statement. "These kinds of incidents will not go unanswered. ... I am confident that between video evidence and eyewitness accounts, we will bring the perpetrators to justice."

Police have not determined whether the shootings might be gang-related, Serpas said. He called on residents, businesses and witnesses who may have video footage, including any from surveillance cameras, to contact police.

It was the third major shooting on Bourbon Street in the last three years.

On March 1, the Saturday before Mardi Gras, four people were treated at a hospital after a shooting. During Halloween 2011, one person was killed and seven others were injured after gunmen opened fire on each other.